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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Our New Tactics for the Trail

I told you earlier this week that I did a few runs last week and that I felt really good about it. What I didn't mention was that on Sunday my sister and I had a really great day on the trail.

Lacey wanted to get a long-ish run in on the rail trail and asked me if I wanted to ride bike along side of her. I agreed! I loaded up my bike and Lacey got her running supplies and we were on our way.

Surprisingly we kept pace with each other very well. Since it was a Sunday, the trail was very busy. About 2 miles in an older man on a bike said to us "Oh, so when you get to the end, do you switch? The one riding bike will run and the one running will ride bike?" That was not our plan, but it did sound like a good one. Lacey intended on running 10 miles that day, so even if she only ran 5 up I don't think I was ready to tackle the 5 miles back down the trail.

This did get us thinking though. I decided that I would like to try to run again since I hadn't run since Thursday. Since I didn't have my Rock Tape on, I was too nervous to attempt anything more than a mile. So this now meant that we had to actually go 11 miles instead of 10 (since I wanted to do the last mile and Lacey still wanted to get her 10 in). When I got off the bike after riding it for 10 miles, my legs and behind weren't feeling all that great and I kind of thought maybe I shouldn't even try it. But I decided to try anyway. If I hurt, I'd just walk the last mile (or get back on the bike).

I was actually a little excited to see that I was able to do my mile in less than 10 minutes. I really thought it would take me a while to get back down into the 9's. Now I realize that this was only ONE mile, but it has me excited for what is to come as I continue to heal.

After we've tried this run and bike thing, we decided that this might be a good tactic to use later when I start increasing my mileage. It was nice having Lacey run at a conversational pace while I rode the bike and I know she enjoyed the little break while I ran that short distance.

Do you ever run with someone while they bike? Do you ever bike with someone while they run?

Sounds like fun! My husband and I ran and rode together when we visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas. I was glad to be running because the hills would have been hard to ride up. I had it easy, but the walkers who saw us didn't realize that and he took a little ribbing!

When I ran my first (and so far, only) marathon years ago, my father accompanied me on his bike for every single weekend long run that I did in training. We had the most wonderful daddy-daughter chats, and he kept my mind off any discomfort I had and encouraged me on difficult days. He held my water/gatorade bottles in a bike basket, and he was my all-around support system. No matter what the weather, if it was a long-run day for me, he was with me on his bike. I have memories as wonderful of that training time together as I do of completing the marathon. He was actually very disappointed that after all that training together, he would be unable to accompany me on the marathon course itself. However, he wrote me a little note that I was supposed to open near the end of the race if I was struggling, and when I did that note said, "I am there riding right beside you in spirit. You can do it!" It was just the boost I needed, and I finished the race.

Oh my goodness. That note would have brought tears to my eyes. That's so nice he was able to ride with you the whole time. I'm sure it was a great bonding experience. I was happy that I didn't have to hold my water either during the run. Now that I am living close to my sister we will definitely be doing this during our marathon training.

I love how close you & your sister are. I am always jealous of sisters.Ricky used to let me get started running... since I'm slow, a good head start & he'd get his bike & catch up with me & then ride next to me. Biking on the hills we live on???? Worse then running.

I love it :) How nice you can spend time together that way and I love that a little comment inspired a really great idea. My hubby has biked along with me to provide hydration support and I love it. Great mile!!

That's exactly what we thought. Since my sister is still recovery from an injury she knew that she couldn't run long but she could bike further. I am not a big fan of biking so I told her I'd just run beside her.

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.

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Fairytales and Fitness by Lacey and Meranda

About Us

We are two sisters who are runners and Disney lovers. On this blog we tell our stories of traveling, training, races, ( and a few tips we've learned along the way). We talk about products we've tried and all the things that bring us joy (including our yellow Labradors). Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy what you read.